Breakfast

Posted at Foodie Friday

Like a lot of people I know, I am bad at remembering to eat breakfast. When I wake up early, my stomach is not ready to deal with anything but liquid for an hour or so and then I just forget entirely about breakfast for myself, despite the fact that I make it for Mikey and often for my husband on the weekends.

Now, I mentioned before that I have put on a little winter weight. Nothing major, just a few extra pounds that are making my clothes a little snug, the husband says he hasn't noticed. It's normal for me, and I think for most people, to put on a little weight during the cold winter months. I know that I certainly need that extra insulation from the cold and I haven't been doing so much exercise as the snow has made it difficult for me to walk as much as I like to in the summer. I also think that it must be fairly natural, as there are far fewer healthy foods in season during the winter and we end up eating more meat and potatoes (at least we do in our house!).

So, in order to drop the few pounds that I would like, I need to begin to switch back from the comfort foods I normally eat in the winter to healthier options. I am also going to start making myself eat breakfast and snacks, switching from my usual two large meals per day to a smaller three meals per day with plenty of healthy snacking. I don't do "diets", I don't like restricting myself in that way and want to be able to eat chocolate if I feel like it, which I generally always do. This isn't a diet and I don't expect to lose weight instantly as that is not healthy anyway.

This isn't really diet advice, but it goes without saying that I'm in no way a health professional and you should check with your doctor before embarking on any crazy diet changes. I'm just doing what I know feels right for my body. It's also important to weigh up your options regarding food, sure a stick of celery has less calories but it also has less of pretty much everything else. You want to be able to feel full and get the nutrients you need otherwise you'll end up making bad food choices later in the day.

I wanted something different for breakfast than cereal, so I set about thinking of different things I could have and I wanted to share my list of breakfast options with you.

Breakfast Ideas

• Chopped Apple, cheese cubes (cheddar) and walnuts.
•  Fried egg with broiled tomatoes
• Wholewheat crusty bread, spread with ricotta and topped with cherry tomatoes, a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Bran flakes mixed into lemon or vanilla yoghurt, topped with fresh or dried fruit.
• Poached egg with mushrooms and tomatoes on toasted wholewheat bread.
• Wholewheat blueberry muffins
• Buckwheat or Flaxseed pancakes, use natural maple syrup instead of pancake syrup or skip altogether and top with fruit, preserves or honey instead.
• Baked French Toast, topped with cinnamon.

Can you think of anything else?

As a side note, Mikey is currently playing very nicely with the cat that we found earlier in the week. They're sitting among his toys and she is making him laugh by swatting at his stuffed animals.